Is writing a lonely endeavour?

Yes and no. What a cliché answer, but it is real and honest. The act of writing is mostly a lonely task since you sit in front of pen and paper (or PC in my case) for long hours and for many months, or even years (it took me seven years to write Tale of Two Brothers). However, the process of writing is far from lonely. Let me clarify.

Once you have a couple of paragraphs you start sharing small parts of your work with alpha readers. That's a fancy name, but I mean friends, family, neighbors, roommates, boyfriends and girlfriends that read your creation and share feedback. This is the first moment when writing stops being lonely.

Later on, you will search (hopefully) someone or a company to edit your work. This contact is extremely important (I will probably write a future blog post on this) and it is also one of the main sources of companionship during this journey. Your editor will revise your book's content, structure, cohesion, pace, grammar, and much more, and while doing so you will have a partner throughout the journey (one who shares the "suffering" and hardships).

When you are close to publishing you start getting company from beta readers. Those who will read most of your book and tell you how they feel, what they like, what they dislike and how to polish your end product. This is like deciding if you want a black, white or gray phone. The product is almost done, but the finishing touches are key as they will differentiate your book forever (or until a second edition).

Now, the book is published! Does it become more or less lonely from here on? Both or neither (again, sorry!). Sometimes you will be working by yourself and feeling lonely. You will be designing material for your social media, revising your inventory levels (I'm an engineer, so this is top of mind for me!), checking your sales, planning for future clients, imagining successes and tending to failures. This part is lonely.

Nonetheless, once you publish your book, you'll get hordes of supporters (not necessarily readers) that make this the least lonely part of writing.

People will send their congratulations, you will meet other authors, you will work with clients or distributors, and you will find new allies.These people are amazing,and the best part is that you would have never met them if you had not decided to write a book.

So, writing is lonely and not lonely; but the not lonely part and how amazing you will feel because of it definitely outweighs the lonely moments.